Matthew 5, 43-45 + CSDC and CV

 (CV 7a) Another important consideration is the common good. To love someone is to desire that person's good and to take effective steps to secure it. Besides the good of the individual, there is a good that is linked to living in society: the common good. It is the good of “all of us”, made up of individuals, families and intermediate groups who together constitute society [4]. It is a good that is sought not for its own sake, but for the people who belong to the social community and who can only really and effectively pursue their good within it.

Notes: [4] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 26.

The Catholic Church joins her own commitment to that of other Churches and Ecclesial Communities,

CSDC 12b. The Catholic Church joins her own commitment to that made in the social field by other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, whether at the level of doctrinal reflection or at the practical level. Together with them, the Catholic Church is convinced that from the common heritage of social teachings preserved by the living tradition of the people of God there will come motivations and orientations for an ever closer cooperation in the promotion of justice and peace[13].

Notes: [13] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 92: AAS 58 (1966), 1113-1114.

(Mt 5, 43-45) You shall love your neighbour as yourself

[43] "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' [44] But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, [45] that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

CSDC 40. The universality and integrality of the salvation wrought by Christ makes indissoluble the link between the relationship that the person is called to have with God and the responsibility he has towards his neighbour in the concrete circumstances of history. This is sensed, though not always without some confusion or misunderstanding, in humanity's universal quest for truth and meaning, and it becomes the cornerstone of God's covenant with Israel, as attested by the tablets of the Law and the preaching of the Prophets. This link finds a clear and precise expression in the teaching of Jesus Christ and is definitively confirmed by the supreme witness of the giving of his life, in obedience to the Father's will and out of love for his brothers and sisters. To the scribe who asks him “Which commandment is the first of all?” (Mk 12:28), Jesus answers: “The first is: ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength'. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself'. There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mk 12:29-31). Inextricably linked in the human heart are the relationship with God — recognized as Creator and Father, the source and fulfilment of life and of salvation — and openness in concrete love towards man, who must be treated as another self, even if he is an enemy (cf. Mt 5:43-44). In man's inner dimension are rooted, in the final analysis, the commitment to justice and solidarity, to the building up of a social, economic and political life that corresponds to God's plan.

[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]

Matthew 5, 33-42 + CSDC and CV

(CV 6c) On the one hand, charity demands justice: recognition and respect for the legitimate rights of individuals and peoples. It strives to build the earthly city according to law and justice. On the other hand, charity transcends justice and completes it in the logic of giving and forgiving [3]. The earthly city is promoted not merely by relationships of rights and duties, but to an even greater and more fundamental extent by relationships of gratuitousness, mercy and communion. Charity always manifests God's love in human relationships as well, it gives theological and salvific value to all commitment for justice in the world.

Notes: [3] Cf. John Paul II, Message for the 2002 World Day of Peace: AAS 94 (2002), 132-140. 

This document is proposed also to the followers of other religions and to all people of good will

CSDC 12a. This document is proposed also to the brethren of other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, to the followers of other religions, as well as to all people of good will who are committed to serving the common good: may they receive it as the fruit of a universal human experience marked by countless signs of the presence of God's Spirit. It is a treasury of things old and new (cf. Mt 13:52), which the Church wishes to share, in thanksgiving to God, from whom comes “every good endowment and ever perfect gift” (Jas 1:17). It is a sign of hope in the fact that religions and cultures today show openness to dialogue and sense the urgent need to join forces in promoting justice, fraternity, peace and the growth of the human person.

(Mt 5, 33-42) Man perceives himself as a creature willed by God

[33] "Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.' [34] But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God's throne; [35] nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. [36] Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. [37] Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one. [38] "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' [39] But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. [40] If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. [41] Should anyone press you into service for one mile, 26 go with him for two miles. [42] Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

CSDC 58. The complete fulfilment of the human person, achieved in Christ through the gift of the Spirit, develops in history and is mediated by personal relationships with other people, relationships that in turn reach perfection thanks to the commitment made to improve the world, in justice and peace. Human activity in history is of itself significant and effective for the definitive establishment of the Kingdom, although this remains a free gift of God, completely transcendent. Such activity, when it respects the objective order of temporal reality and is enlightened by truth and love, becomes an instrument for making justice and peace ever more fully and integrally present, and anticipates in our own day the promised Kingdom. Conforming himself to Christ the Redeemer, man perceives himself as a creature willed by God and eternally chosen by him, called to grace and glory in all the fullness of the mystery in which he has become a sharer in Jesus Christ[69]. Being conformed to Christ and contemplating his face [70] instil in Christians an irrepressible longing for a foretaste in this world, in the context of human relationships, of what will be a reality in the definitive world to come; thus Christians strive to give food, drink, clothing, shelter, care, a welcome and company to the Lord who knocks at the door (cf. Mt 25:35-37). 

Notes: [69] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis, 13: AAS 71 (1979), 283-284. [70] Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, 16-28: AAS 93 (2001), 276-285.   

[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)] 

Matthew 5, 27-32 + CSDC and CV

(CV 6b) I cannot “give” what is mine to the other, without first giving him what pertains to him in justice. If we love others with charity, then first of all we are just towards them. Not only is justice not extraneous to charity, not only is it not an alternative or parallel path to charity: justice is inseparable from charity [1],  and intrinsic to it. Justice is the primary way of charity or, in Paul VI's words, “the minimum measure” of it [2] an integral part of the love “in deed and in truth” (1 Jn 3:18), to which Saint John exhorts us.

Notes: [1] Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio (26 March 1967), 22: AAS 59 (1967), 268; Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 69. [2] Address for the Day of Development (23 August 1968): AAS 60 (1968), 626-627. 

Christian communities will be able to  draw principles for reflection, criteria for judgment and guidelines for action

CSDC 11c. Christian communities will be able to look to this document for assistance in analyzing situations objectively, in clarifying them in the light of the unchanging words of the Gospel, in drawing principles for reflection, criteria for judgment and guidelines for action[12].

Notes: [12] Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, 4: AAS 63 (1971), 403.

(Mt 5, 27-32) God himself is the author of marriage 

[27] "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' [28] But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. [29] If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. [30] And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna. [31] "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.' [32] But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

CSDC 215. The family has its foundation in the free choice of the spouses to unite themselves in marriage, in respect for the meaning and values of this institution that does not depend on man but on God himself: “For the good of the spouses and their offspring as well as of society, this sacred bond no longer depends on human decision alone. For God himself is the author of marriage and has endowed it with various benefits and purposes”[473]. Therefore, the institution of marriage — “intimate partnership of life and love ... established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws” [474] — is not the result of human conventions or of legislative prescriptions but acquires its stability from divine disposition[475]. It is an institution born, even in the eyes of society, “from the human act by which the partners mutually surrender themselves to each other”[476], and is founded on the very nature of that conjugal love which, as a total and exclusive gift of person to person, entails a definitive commitment expressed by mutual, irrevocable and public consent[477]. This commitment means that the relationships among family members are marked also by a sense of justice and, therefore, by respect for mutual rights and duties.

Notes: [473] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 48: AAS 58 (1966), 1067-1068. [474] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 48: AAS 58 (1966), 1067. [475] Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1603. [476] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 48: AAS 58 (1966), 1067. [477] Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1639. 

[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]

Matthew 5, 20-26 + CSDC and CV

(CV 6a) “Caritas in veritate” is the principle around which the Church's social doctrine turns, a principle that takes on practical form in the criteria that govern moral action. I would like to consider two of these in particular, of special relevance to the commitment to development in an increasingly globalized society: justice and the common good. First of all, justice. Ubi societas, ibi ius: every society draws up its own system of justice. Charity goes beyond justice, because to love is to give, to offer what is “mine” to the other; but it never lacks justice, which prompts us to give the other what is “his”, what is due to him by reason of his being or his acting.   

  The lay faithful will find in it enlightenment for their own specific mission

CSDC 11c. The lay faithful, who seek the Kingdom of God “by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God's will”[11], will find in it enlightenment for their own specific mission. Christian communities will be able to look to this document for assistance in analyzing situations objectively, in clarifying them in the light of the unchanging words of the Gospel, in drawing principles for reflection, criteria for judgment and guidelines for action[12].

Notes: [11] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 31: AAS 57 (1965), 37. [12] Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, 4: AAS 63 (1971), 403.

(Mt 5, 20-26) The respect of the transcendent dignity of the human person

[20] I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. [21] "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.' [22] But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. [23] Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, [24] leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. [25] Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. [26] Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.

CSDC 132. A just society can become a reality only when it is based on the respect of the transcendent dignity of the human person. The person represents the ultimate end of society, by which it is ordered to the person: “Hence, the social order and its development must invariably work to the benefit of the human person, since the order of things is to be subordinate to the order of persons, and not the other way around”[246]. Respect for human dignity can in no way be separated from obedience to this principle. It is necessary to “consider every neighbour without exception as another self, taking into account first of all his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity”[247]. Every political, economic, social, scientific and cultural programme must be inspired by the awareness of the primacy of each human being over society[248]. 

  

 Notes: [246] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 26: AAS 58 (1966), 1046-1047. [247] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 27: AAS 58 (1966), 1047. [248] Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2235. 

[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]